I wouldn't say it was one single conversation, but each day I learn a bit more about everything from what to do after graduation to what kinds of classes are best to take.  Its all the little bits and pieces that combine into the most helpful conversation I've had at JHU.  Each little bit helps, well, a little bit more and helps to make the minor adjustments in my path through Hopkins and life.

A couple of weeks toward the end of fall semester I was really frustrated with one of my science classes.  My Spanish professor asked if something was wrong because I looked tired/hadn't said much in class lately, and when I told him how I was just a little stressed out by this biology class he was very reassuring and told me to never feel locked into being a biology major.  He said that he started college as an engineer but ended up getting a PhD in Romance Languages and became a professor.  I love bio and have no intention of switching out of it, but it was cool hearing how this professor could relate to my situation, and I really appreciated his concern.

I'm actually really glad that this thread happened because it's a story I never get tired of telling.

Last summer, I was having somewhat of a quarter-life crisis; I had been pre-med since before I even came to Hopkins, but I was losing steam. I was finding the science courses uninteresting and my clinical experiences were a mixed bag. I was concerned that I had made the wrong choice but worried about what would happen if I changed my mind.

While talking to my friend Ben, a co-RA for the Summer University program, I brought up some of these concerns. When he asked why I wanted to be a doctor, I told him that one of the reasons was that I have had so many horrible doctors in the past that I wanted to give back and really be a great doctor; I thought it was the only way I could make a difference in the community.

Ben, in all his profound wisdom, quoted a man by the name of Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Of course, Ben messed up the quote horribly, but the meaning was not lost in translation.

It may sound corny, but it's the truth. There's no use being miserable doing something you think the world needs, because the LAST thing the world needs is another miserable person. Today, I am very happily pursuing the things that I really care about and that really interest me. The thing about Hopkins is that we're all so motivated, driven, and goal-oriented that we forget to evaluate what we want the outcome to be. Fortunately, though, Hopkins is full of people who are happy with the journey itself. It may sound strange, but I can say with complete certainty that I don't think I would have had this epiphany anywhere else.